Common Vs. Drake: Could It Go The Distance?

Alright so as you all know Rick Ross' Rich Forever Mixtape just dropped. That's great and all but the real story is this brewing beef between Drake and Common. Now as some of you know, Common has a track called Sweet from his new album. On the track he says;

"Singing all around me man, la la la
You aint muthaf-cking Frank Sinatra"

Peep the video

When the song originally came out, a lot of people thought that it was aimed towards Drake. And we all know that he has the tendency to sing and rap on many of his songs. So when Common was asked if that was a diss to Drake he didn't deny it. Which brings me to now. As I said, Rich Forever is out. Check out the video for Stay Schemin'. But pay special attention to Drake's verse.

 

As you can see from Drake's verse, he's talking to Common directly. Very good verse. But, wait...its not over. This just came out today. Skip to 3:30 to hear Common's verse.

 

That Canada Dry line was fire. Til this point, the more impressive rapper in this brewing beef has been Common. I'll tell you why. I am very impressed with how aggressive he has been with his issues towards Drake. And as far as I know, Drake hasn't addressed him directly aside from subliminally. I know I am getting ahead of myself with what this may mean. But as I have mentioned before, I think beef doesn't have to be a bad thing in hip hop. Though I don't doubt Common's feelings about Drake are authentic, I can't turn a blind eye to the timing being around his album release. Maybe it serves both purposes. 

Its always great to see a beef like this. Old blood vs New blood. This is a more raw side of Common that has been lacking from the last couple of albums. It is reminiscent of the Common that once battled Ice Cube. Drake's response to this could confirm his confidence not only as a rapper but potentially a rap legend one day. Yeah I know, way too soon. Whatever your opinion on beef, or this one in particular. Hip Hop heads, young and old, will be talking about it. Interest and discussion is good for hip hop. I just hope to get a couple more tracks from both of them before it ends up in the rap beef graveyard...twitter. 

Speaking of twitter, follow me @HipHopPoli to continue the discussion. Til next time....thanks for reading   

No More Beef?

I have been pondering this for a while. It seems like competition between rappers, beef, battling or whatever you wanna call it is all but dead. Nowadays you are lucky to see a Twitter beef go longer than a week. Though I support the supposed unity between rappers, I miss the competition and the great music created from these heated exchanges. I think we need another one of these to restore some interest. As Wale mentioned in a recent interview and Mixtape About Nothing's "The Perfect Plan" maybe people aren't listening as much or the same way.

Now I'm not asking for something as personal as Nas/Jay-Z battle, but history has taught us that getting personal creates the best material. There's emotion behind it, not just the pursuit of money. I liked the Game/50 cent beef when it began. They weren't holding back. Eminem against (insert rapper name here) was great. Though I'm glad Em has found peace and sobriety I miss the drug-fueled Slim Shady.

Even when rappers try, their heart isn't in it. They get bored. Look how lazy and uninspired that Rick Ross/50 Cent battle was. If a rapper can't be inspired to defend their credibility against another rapper, how can a fan believe you are passionate about making great music. Does financial success have to bring about passionless music?

Rap seemed more exciting and it gave fans something to unite around. I remember sitting in homeroom talking to my friends about the new Jay-Z/Nas diss that dropped on Hot 97 last night. Don't get me wrong now. There are a lot of great artists to listen to out there, I just want to take it back to the essence. A real rap battle. Two artists spitting their best lyrics for bragging rights and respect. I don't want to see violence just competition, hunger. Isn't it time for another "The Bridge Is Over? Or "No Vaseline" What would make a good battle? Drake vs. J.Cole? Wayne vs. Jay? (no more subliminal shots). Who would you like to see go at it? Does beef have to equal career suicide of violence? Is it possible for it to just stay on wax?